Camano Island radar station gives a clearer picture of weather

September 28, 2011

The Herald – If predictions for another La Nina winter with lots of cold temperatures and rain come true, at least we’ll have state-of-the-art radar to let us know how bad it’s going to be.

Both the federal government’s brand new radar station at Copalis Beach on the Washington coast and its current station on Camano Island will be using dual polarization radar, which provides a more complete picture of weather systems than conventional Doppler radar.

The new $9 million station at the coast began operations last week, said Johnny Burg, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle. A dedication ceremony for the new station is scheduled for Thursday.

The Camano Island station, located just off Camano Hill Road on the north central part of the island, closed down operations for 12 days beginning Monday so it can be retrofitted with the more sophisticated radar, according to the weather service. It’s scheduled to be back up and running Oct. 9, Burg said.

Dual polarization, or polarimetric, radar sends out vertically shaped radar signals in addition to the horizontal signals sent out by even the most advanced radar stations now. When the signals bounce back, they show clouds in greater depth.

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